Striving to cool like Dell

[neomits]

Well my sister just got a Dell Dimension 4500 and it is incredibly quiet... I mean you can't hear it at all. I looked inside and saw their design of the heatsink, vent shaft, 80-90 mm fan. I was wondering if there are any 3rd parties that make this kind of design for ATX cases? I was amazed and jealous how quiet it was. Everything in my current comp is quiet enough except for the fan on my CPU, so I'm thinking of trying to do something like Dell has or just find a good combo of good heatsink/quiet fan

 

[ShinSa]

I've seen some cases that have shrouds just like dell so you don't need a fan on the Heatsink.

Do you have an intel or amd? Intel would be much easier to cool it passively while AMD will be slightly more difficult due to its heat.

 

[fatbaby]

dell is intels biggest customer

I have a dim 4400 (same case as yours) and you can barely hear it! in fact, you can't even feel any air coming out of it (rear fan blows in, no psu fan)

Just buy a massive hsf and a shroud and you can cool like dell

 

[Pothead]

There was a case at linkpca that had the exhaust vent like the dells. Some guys just go out and make them. It's not hard at all.

You actually don't need a vent to make it quiet. It's always easier cooling with Intel over AMD. My own built systems are about as quiet as dells, the only real noise is from my vid card. I'm using Papst 12 dba pans, exhaust and intake and a panaflo on an alpha pal heatsink(p4).

 

[neomits]

Well I do have an AMD, and XP 1800 so could that survive as just a really good heatsink?

What are shrouds and where could you buy them?

 

[progex]

This is an example of a shroud. It is the silver-ish part that covers the heatsink. What it does is it provides direct airflow from the heatsink fan to the rear fan.

As for buying these so-called "shrouds".... I have no clue.

 

[roamerr]

I have a Dell 4400 in a room with a wood floor and in a wood computer cabinet -- if does make noise. I have replaced the WD 40 gb hard drive with a 80gb Seagate -- big improvement. I also replaced the 92mm fan with a vantec stealth (slight improvement -- Vantec hums).

I am now exhausting out the back and pulling in the front. I removed the duct that pulled air up from the CPU since it made the fan hum -- squeezed the fan -- not sure how to make it stop. The 92mm still pulls air across the heatsink so I assume it is OK. I also removed the spare 3.5" drive cover and replaced it with a black filter for better airflow -- this provides the best improvement in temp (5 F drop in case internal)

I now have a different fan ordered (Zalman ZM-F2 with quiet adaptor) to try to reduce the only noise left -- the Vantec Stealth.

My inside case temp is 87 F in a room of 78 F. I do not know any other temps (Dell does not seem to have any way to tell me -- If anyone knows let me know). Of course I am not a gamer; I am only a surfer. With my comp on 24/7 I want it as close to silent as possible. The hardwood floor in my comp room makes any noise louder though... (had carpet until 2 months ago -- hardwood added 4+ db)

 

[Howard]

Ask Leo V how it's done...

 

[Intelman07]

Could u build a shourd i would like one my self!

 

[Pilsnerpete]

hang on, lemme modify some paper towel rolls.

 

[Intelman07]

Are ya really if you could it would be a neat mod but tacky but who cares hehe!

 

[WarCon]

My old shroud for my Alpha PAL 6035 is over in my junk pile. It really isn't hard to make, but make sure you have a heatsink that is designed to draw air off the heatsink or the shroud don't mean much.

I just made it out of cardboard with a coating of duct tape. Playing with it caused me to chip the duron I was using, so be careful not to fuss with your heatsink much. Make sure the shroud go over it easily.

 

[Intelman07]

Neato cardboard and duct tape i have to try but i will see what this guy does with papertowl tubes!

 

[Intelman07]

Bump

 

[Pilsnerpete]

no go. couldn't get it done in time for the project. sorry, intel. I shoulda had a amd. Intel: blech